Method for skin/surface abrasion

ABSTRACT

A dermabrasion handpiece adapted for use to abrade the skin of a patient includes a housing extending along an axis between a proximal end and a distal end. Portions of the housing define a hole at the distal end with an abrasion element disposed in the housing in proximity to the hole. The housing is adapted for connection to a vacuum source to pull a portion of the skin through the hole and to move the skin portion into contact with the abrasion element. Movement of the abrader relative to the skin abrades tissue from the skin portion extending through the hole. The abrader can be provided in the form of a roller or blade moveable relative to the housing to abrade the skin. The abrasion element can be selected from a series of elements each having different abrasion characteristics and can be mounted in either the cap or the base of the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates generally to skin or surface abrasionapparatus and methods, and more specifically to semi-automatichandpieces used in dermabrasion.

[0003] 2. Discussion of the Prior Art

[0004] It is often desirable to abrade the outer layer or epidermis ofthe skin in order to smooth or blend scars, or blemishes caused by acnefor example. The techniques employed have been separated generally intotwo fields referred to as dermabrasion and microdermabrasion. Withmicrodermabrasion, a sand or grit is carried by an airflow that isdirected against the skin. The momentum of the grit tends to wear awaytwo to three cell layers of the skin with each pass of a handpiece.

[0005] Dermabrasion refers generally to the mechanical movement of anabrasive element against the skin. A handpiece is employed which mayinclude a pneumatic or electric motor which drives the abrasive elementtypically in the form of a burr, wheel, or disk. This process tends tobe relatively painful and messy.

[0006] Dermabrasion has also been accomplished using a semi-automatichandpiece having a grit fixed to its outer surface. The handpiece isthen moved over the skin causing the grit to abrade the cell layers.Suction has been applied to the semi-automatic handpiece through a holewhich extends to the outer surface carrying the grit. As the skin isdrawn into the hole, it is also pulled against the grit surrounding thehole on the outer surface of the handpiece. This is also a fairly messyprocedure since the abrasion takes place outside of the handpiece. Inthis device, no attempt has been made to use the suction to remove thedebris.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In accordance with the present invention, a semi-automatichandpiece is disclosed which uses suction to clear the debris from theoperative site. Suction is applied to the handpiece to draw skin througha hole and into the handpiece. Within the handpiece, this skin extendingthrough the hole is drawn onto an abrasive surface. As the handpiece ismoved over the skin, progressive areas of the skin are drawn into thehandpiece and abraded. This suction also creates a seal with the outeredges of the hole so debris abraded from the skin interiorly of thehandpiece can be drawn away by the suction.

[0008] The abrasive element within the handpiece can be made disposableso that a new abrasion element is available for each reuse of thehandpiece. A set of abrasive elements can be provided with differentabrasion characteristics to provide for coarse and fine adjustments inthe process. The handpiece can be formed with a housing having a bodyand a cap removable from the body to access the abrasive element.

[0009] In one aspect of the invention a dermabrasion handpiece isadapted for use in abrading the skin of a patient. The handpieceincludes a housing extending along an axis between a proximal end and adistal end. Portions of the housing define a hole at the distal end ofthe handpiece. An abrasion element is disposed in the housing inproximity to the hole. The housing is adapted for connection to a vacuumsource so that, in operation, a portion of the skin is drawn through thehole and moved into contact with the abrasion element. Movement of thehandpiece relative to the skin abrades tissue from the skin portionextend through the hole.

[0010] In another aspect of the invention, a method for abrading theskin of the patient includes the step of providing a handpiece with ahole and moving a portion of the skin through the hole and into thehandpiece. Ultimately, the skin portion moved through the hole of thehandpiece is abraded within the handpiece.

[0011] In a further aspect of the invention a method for operating askin abrader includes the steps of providing a housing with a base and acap separable to provide access to an abrasion element within thehousing. A series of abrasion elements is provided, each havingdifferent abrasion characteristics. From this series, a particular oneof the elements can be chosen for the specific abrasion characteristicsdescribed. The cap is removed from the base and the chosen element ismounted within the cap or the base. The cap is then replaced on the basewith the abrasion element disposed in the housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a dermabrader including a consoleand a handpiece associated with the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 2 is a exploded perspective view of one embodiment of thehandpiece of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 3 is an axial cross-section view of the handpiece operativelydisposed relative to the skin of a patient;

[0015]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of thehandpiece of the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a further embodiment of thehandpiece of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 6 is an axial cross-section view taken along lines 6-6 ofFIG. 5;

[0018]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of thehandpiece of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7;and

[0020]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 8 andillustrating a further embodiment the handpiece of the present invention

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS AND BEST MODE OF THE INVENTION

[0021] A dermabrader is illustrated in FIG. 1 and designated by thereference numeral 10. The dermabrader 10 includes a console 12, and ahandpiece 14 connectable to the console 12 through a vacuum tube 16having an inline filter 18. The console 12 in this case is powered by a12 volt transformer 21 and includes a power switch 23 and a vacuumadjustment 25. Releasable connectors are provided at a vacuum port 27and a pressure port 30 discussed in greater detail below.

[0022] The handpiece 14, which is shown in the exploded view of FIG. 2,includes a housing 32 which in this embodiment is formed by base 34 anda cap 36 having an opening 37. The base 34 has a central channel 38extending between a proximal end 41 and a distal end 43. At the proximalend 41, the channel 38 is coupled to the vacuum tube 16; at the distalend 43, the cap 36 is attached to the base 34 in a snap-fitrelationship. This configuration is facilitated by provision of anO-ring 45 at the distal end 43.

[0023] Of particular interest to the present invention is an abrasivedisc or element 47 which is disposed between the cap 36 and the base 34.In this embodiment, the element 47 includes a laminate having anabrasive layer 50 and a resilient layer 52. The abrasive layer 50includes an abrasive grit 54 adhered to a backing 56 which may beporous. The resilient layer 52 in this embodiment is formed a resilientsponge material. In practice, the abrasive element 47 may be provided asa series of elements having a similar construction but differing in thesize of the grit 54 and hence the abrasive characteristics of eachelement 47. In FIG. 2, these alternative elements that provide differentabrasion characteristics are designated by the reference numerals 58 and61.

[0024] An assembled view of the handpiece 14 is illustrated in FIG. 3.In this cross-sectional view, the handpiece 14 illustrated to beoperatively disposed relative to skin 63 of a patient. With thisdisposition of the handpiece 14, vacuum can be applied by the console 12(FIG. 1) to the tube 16 and through the channel 38 to the distal end 43of the base 34. At this point, the vacuum provides suction around and/orthrough the abrasive disk or element 47 to the opening 37 in the cap 36.When this opening 37 in the handpiece 14 is brought into proximity withthe skin 63, a portion of the skin, designated by the reference numeral65, is drawn through the opening 37 and into abrasive contact with thedisk or element 47. It is of particular interest that abrasion occursonly with respect to the skin portion 65 which is drawn through theopening 37. This insures that any debris resulting from the abrasion isexposed to the vacuum and drawn off into the channel 38 and vacuum tube16.

[0025] In this embodiment abrasion occurs not simply due to contactbetween the skin portion 65 and the abrasive element 47, but due to therelevant movement of the skin portion 65 and the element 47 as thehandpiece 14 is moved over the skin 63. Thus, progressive portions ofthe skin 63 are drawn into abrasive contact with the element 47 as thehandpiece 14 is moved relative to the surface or skin 63.

[0026] In a particular embodiment, the abrasive layer 50 may be fixedand rigid relative to the cap 36 and the base 34. This orientation tendsto produce abrasion that is dependent only upon the force applied to thehandpiece 14 by the user. In order to create a more uniform pressure,and therefore more uniform abrasion, a preferred embodiment includes thelayer 52 which provides a flexible backing and hence more resilientcharacteristics for the abrasion layer 50. In FIG. 3, the abrasive diskor element 47 differs from that previously discussed in that it includesa second abrasive layer 67 on the opposite side of the resilient layer52. With this configuration, the pad can be reversed to provide a newabrasive surface with the same size of grit, or alternatively to providean abrasive surface which has a different size of grit.

[0027] An additional embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG.4 where elements of similar structure are designated by the samereference numeral followed by the lower case letter “a”. Thus, thehandpiece 14 a is coupled to the vacuum tube 16 a. However, in thiscase, the handpiece 14 a has a base 34 a and a head 70 which areintegrally molded, perhaps from plastic. The head 70 includes an opening37 a which in this embodiment has a rectangular configuration. Anabrasive surface is provided by the abrasive element 47 a which also hasa rectangular configuration. The element 47 a in this case can be gluedon or snapped into the head 70.

[0028] A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5wherein elements of similar structure are designated by the samereference numeral followed by the lower case letter “b”. Thus, thisembodiment includes a base 34 b defining a channel 38 b which is influid communication with the vacuum tube 16 b. In this case, the base 34b also defines a second channel 72 which is spaced from the channel 38b. The channel 72 is adapted for connection to the pressure tube 74which is illustrated in FIG. 5 and also in the system view of FIG. 1.

[0029] The cap 36 b includes a septum 76 which divides the cap 36 b intotwo chambers, an abrasion chamber 78 communicating with the vacuumchannel 38 b, and a chemical chamber 81 having an opening 82 andcommunicating with the pressure channel 72. Disposed within the abrasionchamber 78 is the abrasion element 47 b previously discussed. In thechemical chamber 81, a sponge or pad 83 can be impregnated with achemical such as vitamin C or vitamin A. In this embodiment, the cap 36b can be snap-fit to the base 34 b in the manner previously discussed orattached with a bayonet fitting 85. Both the pad 83 and abrasive element37 b could be combined in a single disposable element.

[0030] A cross-section view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 is illustratedin FIG. 6. In operation, the vacuum tube 16 b, channel 38 b, opening 37b, and abrasive element 47 b function in the manner previouslydisclosed. However in this embodiment, pressurized air is introducedinto the tube 72 and the chemical chamber 81 to force any chemicalimpregnated in the sponge 83 outwardly through the opening 82. Thisensures that the chemical, such as vitamin A or vitamin C, is introducedonto the abraded area of the skin.

[0031] Further embodiments of the invention are illustrated in FIGS. 7-9wherein abrasive elements are discussed which move relative to thehandpiece. In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 & 8, elements of structuresimilar to those previously disclosed are designated with the samereference numeral followed by the lower case letter “c”. Similarly, inthe embodiment of FIG. 9, these structural elements are followed by thelower case letter “d”.

[0032] Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 7, the cap 36 c includes askirt 87 and a projection 90 which extends to the opening 37 c. Theskirt 87 can provide a snap-fit, screw, or bayonet attachment to thebase 34 (FIG. 2). The opening 37 c in the projection 90 is longitudinalin configuration to provide the greatest exposure to a longitudinalabrasion element which is supported on a shaft 92 which is fixed at itsends to the projection 90. The abrasion element 47 c in this case isprovided in the form of a blade 94 best illustrated in the cross-sectionview of FIG. 8. As noted, the blade 94 is pivotal with or on the shaft92 relative to the cap 36 c. The blade 94 may oscillate under the powerof the vacuum or pressurized air. Alternatively, the blade 94 may bemoveable by mere contact with the skin 63 between terminal positionsshown by the lines 96 and 98 in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, the blade 94functions as a scraper as it is drawn along the skin 63 (FIG. 3).

[0033] In the embodiment of FIG. 9, an abrasive wheel 100 is mounted onthe shaft 92. The wheel 100 may be fixed to the projection 90 so that itdoes not move relative to the skin 63 (FIG. 3) but rather is stationaryand therefore abrasive to the skin 63. The wheel 100 can be indexedhowever to expose different portions of the wheel 100 so that a newabrasive surface faces the opening 37 c as the wheel is indexed.

[0034] Alternatively, the wheel 100 can be rotated under the power ofthe vacuum or pressurized air from the console 12 (FIG. 1) which mightbe applied, for example, to an impeller (not shown) associated with theroller 100.

1. A surface abrasion handpiece adapted for use to abrade skin of apatient, comprising: a housing extending along an axis between aproximal end and a distal end; portions of the housing defining a holeat the distal end of the housing; an abrasion element disposed in thehousing in proximity to the hole; the housing being adapted forconnection to a vacuum source to pull a portion of the skin through thehole and to move the skin portion into contact with the abrasionelement; whereby movement of the abrader relative to the skin abradestissue from the skin portion extending through the hole.
 2. Thehandpiece recited in claim 1 wherein the abrader includes an abrasivesurface disposed relative to the hole.
 3. The handpiece recited in claim2 wherein the abrader includes: a disc having a generally planer outersurface; and the abrasive surface is formed on the outer surface of thedisc.
 4. The handpiece recited in claim 2, wherein: the abrader includesa roller having a generally cylindrical outer surface; and the abrasivesurface forms the outer surface of the roller.
 5. The handpiece recitedin claim 1, wherein the abrader includes a blade disposed in proximityto the hole, the blade being movable relative to the housing.
 6. Thehandpiece recited in claim 5, wherein: the blade is moveable between afirst position and a second position; the blade in the first positionbeing adapted for scraping the skin with movement of the housing in afirst direction; and the blade in the second position being adapted forscraping the skin with movement of the housing in a second directionopposed to the first direction.
 7. The handpiece recited in claim 6,wherein the blade is pivotal relative to the housing between the firstposition and the second position.
 8. A method for abrading skin of apatient, comprising the steps of: providing a hand piece with a hole;moving a portion of the skin through the hole and into the handpiece;and abrading the skin portion moved through the hole of the handpiece.9. The method of abrading skin recited in claim 8, further comprisingthe step of: providing an abrasive surface in proximity to the hole inthe housing; and moving the skin relative to the abrasive surface toabrade the skin portion.
 10. The method recited in claim 9, wherein themoving step includes the steps of: moving the abrasive surface relativeto the skin to abrade the skin portion extending through the hole. 11.The method recited in claim 10 wherein the step of moving the abrasivesurface relative to the skin includes a step of moving the housingrelative to the skin.
 12. The method recited in claim 8 where theabrading step includes the steps of: providing an abrader in thehousing; moving the handpiece over the skin to draw successive portionsof the skin through the hole and into abrasive contact with the abrader.13. The method recited in claim 10 wherein the step of moving theabrasive surface includes the step of moving the abrasive surfacerelative to the housing.
 14. The method recited in claim 13 wherein thestep of moving the abrasive surface relative to the housing includes thestep of rotating the abrasive surface relative to the housing.
 15. Themethod recited in claim 13 wherein the step of moving the abrasivesurface relative to the housing includes the step of oscillating theabrasive surface relative to the housing.
 16. The method recited inclaim 8 wherein the moving step includes the step of drawing the skinportion into the hole.
 17. The method recited in claim 16 wherein thedrawing step includes the step of sucking the skin portion into thehole.
 18. A method for operating a skin abrader, including the steps of:providing a housing with a base and a cap separable to provide access toan abrasion element within the housing; providing a series of abrasionelements each having different abrasion characteristics; selecting fromthis series a particular one of the abrasion elements having theabrasion characteristics desired; removing the cap from the base;mounting the particular abrasion element in one of the caps and thebase; and replacing the cap on the base with the particular abrasionelement disposed in the housing.